Help with side-lying position

[@llli*hw]

I want to start using the side-lying position at nights. I've always sat up in bed with a pillow before now, but I'm back at work and need more sleep! But I'm finding it really awkward to get into and out of the position without help.

DS sleeps in a co-sleeper attached to my side of the bed, his mattress is an inch or so lower than mine, so it takes a little leverage to get him onto my bed. I pretty much have to sit up to get him. Anyone have tricks they use to not have to wake up so much to get him lying next to me? I don't want to bed-share.

The other big issue is he usually takes both sides -- how do you switch sides?

Would love if I could get this going with some level of grace - so I don't have to wake up too much and the baby doesn't start crying from all the awkward handling.

[@llli*mommal]

Can you inch over to the edge of the bed and get your breast into the co-sleeper with the baby? Start with the lower breast, then kind of roll a little more onto your tummy and bring the upper breast into range for the baby.

You also might want to look for some books or something that could raise the co-sleeper up an inch or so.

[@llli*auderey]

i found this tutorial very helpful:
http://mother-2-mother.com/tut-layingdown.htm

i like mommal's suggestion about you moving. depending on your breasts and nipples, you can nurse with the top breast - but you might have to stay awake to keep your balance. that never worked with me much.

what about putting baby on a towel/blanket/something even more rigid so you can pull that over to you? for awhile while co-sleeping i would nusre on one side, then sit up on all fours and pull the baby to the side underneath me, then lay down and nurse the other side. that worked well and he usually didn't wake up at all.

[@llli*lidarose]

I used to just roll over on my back and bring baby along for the ride on my tummy to switch sides. I got reminded last night though that burping while doing side lying was a pain.

[@llli*lcb]

All we do is side-lying in our house. My DD is 7 months and also in a co-sleeper which is a few inches below our bed. I usually sit up and get her and bring her into bed with me. Next, just log-roll your DS onto his side up to your breast. I usually sleep on a flat pillow with my arm out under my head, and a support pillow behind my back. I pull my DD's blanket up with her and wedge it behind her, so I don't have to hold her up. We're both supported and can both fall asleep that way. I do what Auderey, above, does and get up on all fours to switch sides. My DD usually falls asleep and I can get her back into the co-sleeper without her waking. If you can master this position, it'll change your life. I wake up forgetting if I've nursed her since we both sleep right through it. Good luck.

[@llli*hw]

Thanks - I'll be trying some of these tonight!

The co-sleeper actually has a bit of a rim around it, so even if we raised the whole thing there would still be that bump to get him over. It's an Arms-Reach.

I'm sure if I just keep practicing it it will get easier

[@llli*auderey]

by the way, my baby never really (except for maybe the first couple weeks?) laid on his side - he lays flat on his back and turns his head to nurse. i have big boobs that reach, and he doesn't seem to mind at all.

[@llli*rakoonz]

Same here, mine lies on his back and turns his head. For us the side-lying took a lot of practice, and this practice happened during the day, so for a while, I was side-lying during the day and still doing laid-back sorta propped up on a pillow at night 'til we got the hang of it. Now we pretty much exclusively side-lie.

To switch sides, I do one of two things: the up on all fours and over technique like pps have mentioned (but we bed-share, and this is for when I need to lie on my other side cause he'll stay latched on pretty much all night, and my hips start to hurt). Or by using the top breast (I have sorta medium breasts, I guess, and it works fine). For me, when using the bottom breast, it's most comfortable to have my bottom leg under my son's legs, like an ottoman, (coming from my torso like a lower-case h) and my top leg farther back, with my body tilted away from him at like 45 degrees. He seems to fall asleep better with his legs up on mine, so I usually start with the lower breast. Then to switch to the top breast, I switch the order of my knees, so the top one overhangs in front of the bottom one, and it kinda crosses over his feet, and my body is tilted the other direction, about 45 degrees toward my son. I'm not sure how all of that would work given the space you have to work with, with the cosleeper.

Looking back, I see that a picture is worth a paragraph of words, so I'm sorry I don't have one.